My favorite time of year to visit Disneyland is during the holiday season. The place takes on an added layer of charm as strings of lights and special seasonal events transform the park.
This year, the holiday decorations will run from November 12, 2012 – January 6, 2013. Although there are tons of decorations to put up, the resort seems to magically transform overnight. If you visit November 11, you will see the autumn decorations and then poof, on November 12th the place will be in winter holiday mode.
Holiday Attractions
Disneyland gives “it’s a small world” and the Haunted Mansion seasonal overlays that completely transform the experience for the holidays.
The “it’s a small world” holiday overlay has been a tradition for several years. The ride’s soundtrack is swapped out for a specially recorded version of Jingle Bells that is even translated into multiple languages. Each of the dolls in the ride are dressed in their respective country’s holiday garb. One of my favorite parts is the Hawaiian room with the Polynesian versions of Rudolf and the other reindeer.
The finale scene is really spectacular because of all the added lighting effects. I typically avoid “it’s a small world” every other day of the year, but during the holidays the attraction becomes something I want to experience again and again.
You’ll want to grab a picture in front of the attraction, as the entire façade is decked out in holiday lights. The area in front of the ride is usually crowded, so a good idea is to take your photo from the raised platform area to the right of the attraction. This is the area that is used for the princess meet & greets and for viewing of the parades. The elevated platform gets your family up above the crowds a bit and typically gives you an unobstructed view of the small world lights in the background.
Another photo idea is to take pictures of “it’s a small world” holiday while you are on the ride, just after you leave the loading dock and just before you enter the attraction. The boats pass right beneath the lit up façade, which gives you a very neat photo angle in the 30 seconds or so after you leave the loading platform.
The Disneyland Railroad passes through “it’s a small world” after it departs the Toontown station. You can get a unique photo perspective as the train passes over the attraction and chugs along to Tomorrowland.
Haunted Mansion Holiday is the other marquee attraction overlay. The traditional Haunted Mansion attraction is rethemed to represent Tim Burton’s film the Nightmare Before Christmas. The overlay opened in early October for the fall season, but since it is themed to both Christmas and Halloween, it lives on for several months.
Nightmare Before Christmas is a well themed environment, but isn’t exactly the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Christmas. The overlay makes the ride feel scarier than the traditional “spooky” Haunted Mansion, so I can’t recommend it to families with very young children. I’m trying to decide whether or not to take my 4-year-old on the ride (most likely not). But if your children are not easily frightened, it is worth braving the long wait to see this seasonal attraction. It is very well done and a lot of fun to experience.
Photos via Disney
